The Maserati Levante hasn't had the best publicity lately. While it's a perfectly capable off-roader with a stylish Italian design, its steep asking price is clearly affecting sales. As a result, production has been significantly cut for the next few months. However, the Levante has been put to good use, as Maserati used the luxury SUV to help British snowboarding legend Jamie Barrow break an insane new speed record. Back in 2016, Barrow set a world record for the fastest speed on a snowboard while being towed behind a car.

At the time, the professional snowboarder clocked a speed of 62 mph on a frozen lake in St Moritz. However, the track was shorter than originally planned and the soft snow didn't provide the required grip. This year, he returned to the same lake with a faster car than the last attempt – a potent Maserati Levante. To achieve the new record, the Levante was fitted with Pirelli Scorpion Winter tires featuring 474 studs per tire, each four mm long, to provide plenty of grip on the frozen lake. The Levante also features Maserati's Q4 Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system that responds immediately variable driving conditions, helping extract more performance for Barrow's record run.

In addition, the recently developed EPS, which improves the car's handling and better supports the driving modes, allowed the Levante to perform on the frozen lake surface without losing any steering response. To further prepare for the record attempt, the track was closed, and the snow was groomed to meet Guinness World Record guidelines, which include a timed run in both directions with specialist record equipment, set at 100m by a Guinness World Records official. However, 400m was required on either side to enable the Levante to accelerate and slow down safely, so a total run of around 900m was prepared.

During the first run, Barrow hit a speed of 94.18 mph while being towed by the Levante, while the return run was recorded at 91.78 mph. As a result, his average speed was 92.98 mph which set a new Guinness World Record, beating his own record by 30 mph. It's an impressive feat, especially when you consider the stakes if something goes wrong at those speeds. Our conclusion is that Barrow is utterly bonkers. "I'm absolutely delighted to have broken my own record," Barrow commented. "I always knew there was much more speed possible with the right conditions and crucially the right car to tow me."

"The Maserati Levante made light work of the icy and snowy conditions, giving us the grip to really hit top speed. The adrenaline rush is always amazing when you hit those speeds – I'm just happy I was able to hold my nerve, keep the snowboard in line and ultimately smash the World Record."